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Thank you for entering my page! Right now, you are probably searching to find out more about Jewish beliefs in Jesus. Perhaps, you are questioning your faith, and are looking at different options. Do you live in New Mexico? Are you interested in Messianic Judaism? Congregation Baruch HaShem presents itself as a synagogue in which Jewish people can come to know Jesus. In reality, it is not a Jewish group, but a Christian group. Specifically, it is part of the Southern Baptist movement. I will prove that they are a Christian group, using material from their site and other Christian sites. Each time, I will provide reference links so you can view the evidence. Southern Baptist Basis
Baruch HaShem and its leader "Rabbi" Y'honatan (Jonathan) Dees try to show themselves as a Jewish organization, and show Messianic Judaism as a Jewish movement. In truth, all of the above is false. Congregation Baruch HaShem is part of the Southern Baptist Convention. Here is the link to the congregation on the Southern Baptist Convention's web-site:
Click Here The Southern Baptist Convention is one of the most active Christian groups trying to convert Jews. They do not want more Jews, but more Christians. Not suprisingly, you can find Congregation Baruch HaShem and Jonathan Dees on the New Mexico Baptist Convention web-site. They are listed on the right side of the webpage under Torrance County, 6. Rio Rancho in the "SBC Church Summary.":
Click Here Further, you can find Congregation Baruch Hashem and its leader, Jonathan Dees, in the Central Baptist Association Directory. They are listed under "Missions", toward teh bottom of the page:
Click Here
Hosting Christian Events Congregation Baruch Hashem hosted Dramatic Christian Ministries in December of 2003 and October of 2004. Dramatic Chrisitan Ministries is a group created to help churches evangelize. According to their website, the purpose of their organization is: Dramatic Christian Ministries is an evangelistic ministry founded out of a call to bring the Word of God to people in a way that fully ministers. DCM is not Christian entertainment. Our focus is to equip and uplift God's church and to show the way to eternal life to the unsaved." Here is the link to this statement from the DCM website:
Click Here
Baruch Hashem is the second event under December 2003 and the first event under October 2004:
Click Here
Basic Errors
Baruch HaShem makes a number of errors on its webpage. For instance, in the answer to "What is a Messianic Synagogue?" they state: "Imagine a synagogue where the Rabbi, Elders and members all practice the teachings of the Tanahk "Older Testament" and the B'rit Chadashah "Renewed Testament"
Here is the link to the page where they say this, the quote is from the second paragraph:
Click Here
There are two problems with their statement. First, "Tanahk" does not mean "Older Testament." "Old" or "Older Testament" is a Christian term for the Jewish Bible. "Tanahk" is an ancronym for the three books of the Jewish Bible: The Torah, Nevi'im (In English: Book of Prophets) and Ketuvim (In English: The Book of Writings). The term has nothing to do with "old" or "testament." Second, Brit Chadash is the way that Christians attempt to say "New Testament" in Hebrew. (New Testament is the Christian way of referring to the Christian Bible). Baruch HaShem states that it means "Renewed Testament". "Brit" certainly can mean "testament", but "Chadash" means "new", not "renewed". "Chidesh" is the word for "renewed" - a real Jewish group would not make this Hebrew error. The Name An organization's name tells the reader a great deal about the organization. "Bill's Pizza and Soda" tells the hungry person that the store sells pizza and soda to eat. Congregation Baruch HaShem's name tells the reader that their congregation does not have a solid grasp of Hebrew. The word "HaShem" is a substitue word. It is a word you use in substitution of the word "G-d", so as not to accidentally use G-d's name in vain. However, you would never name an object or person with a substitute word. Allow me to explain with an analogy. We usually refer to our parents as "Mom" and "Dad", out of respect for them. It would be disrepectful for us to call our parents by their first names (e.g. Joe and Barbara). "Mom" and "Dad" are substitute words, just like "HaShem". Now then, let's say a person would want to name a building after their parents. The situation has suddenly changed. In this situation, you would use the parents actual names, say, "The John and Barbara Smith Tower". No one would use the substitute words when naming the building, and have the building named "The Mom and Dad Tower". By using the word "HaShem" in their name, the congregation has done the equivalent of placing the word "Mom" or "Dad" in their name. These issues are clear to someone who is familiar with Judaism and Hebrew, which is why a real Jewish congregation would not make such blatant errors. This is why no real Jewish congregations use the word "HaShem" in their name. Only a non-Jewish group would do this.
Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus There are many reasons why Jews do not accept Jesus, and the links below are some of the better explanations on this topic. Of course, if you have questions that are not covered on the links, you can always e-mail me with your questions. An Answer from Rabbi Stuart Federow Click Here
An Answer from Rabbi Shraga Simmons Click Here Ask the Rabbi from Ohr Somayach Click Here An Answer from Rabbi Tovia Singer Click Here Countermissionary Counseling
There are a number of groups that provide Countermissionary Counseling. Here are links to a few of them:
Jews for Judaism Alternatively, you can call them at 1-800-4PROOF1 with general questions about missionary claims.
Torah Atlanta
Outreach Judaism
Torah Life and Living Great Sites, Priceless Information
Here are a number of great sites that counter missionaries and explain the differences in belief between Judaism and Christianity, including addressing the Biblical verses that missionaries try to use against the Jews and explaining why the missionaries are incorrect. For the most in-depth analysis of verse by verse questions, go to Messiah Truth (sections on Counter-Missionary: Multi-media training [this can be read without being "multi-media"], Knowing Your Orchard and Judaism's Answer), Jews for Judaism (in their Reference Section (please note that the Isaiah topics tend to be under "Suffering Servant" part of the "Proof Text" section) and the Q & A section of Outreach Judaism. Messiah Page Messiah Truth Jews for Judaism Outreach Judaism Counter Missionary Reference Torah Atlanta Messianic Verses in Tanach Kosher Judaism Escape From Counterfeit Judaism Talking to Kids About Missionaries
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